There is a visual display at the Melbourne Museum that tracks the growth of the city over time. Growth is rapid over almost all periods except for two significant ones - after circa 1890 and around WW1 and WW2 (which includes the Great Depression). The population actually decreased after 1890 and doesn't exceed the 1890 figure for about another 15-20 years. Disclosure - I'm going from memory. If you were to project population growth based on the trends before 1890 you would be way out. Moral of the story - projections are almost always wrong. Correct that - they are always wrong.
